Stockholm, National Archives, Kopiesamling I, vol. 41 (f.d. Avskriftsamling, avd. I nr. 13). Gödik Fincke’s copybook 1598–1599 Cataloguer Ville Walta Finnish Literature Society (SKS) Codices Fennici Creative Commons BY 4.0 Stockholm National Archives Kopiesamling I, vol. 41 f.d. Avskriftsamling, avd. I nr. 13 Finland, Savonlinna, 1598–1599 Gödik Fincke’s copybook for the years 1598 and 1599; and a collection of loose leaves and documents (see History section)

Fols. 1r–142r: Gödik Fincke’s copybook from January 1598 to September 1599. Some documents are, however, from 1597. In addition to letters, there are administrative documents and notes on items of news that were delivered orally or written.

[1r] (drafts of letters; 1v is blank) [2r] (letter to Arvid Eriksson, dated 10 January 1598) Nest helsningar Käre her bror Arfuid Erichsonn… [142bisr] (a document from 1599 concerning the amount of grain to be had in storage in Savonlinna castle) …lhön i kledr och penning.

(Fols. 6v, 18v, 27v, 38v, 50v, 53r, 62v, 74v, 80r, 84v, 89v, 91v, 107v, 108v, 109v, 116v, 132v, 134r are blank.)

 Paper 142 + 3 folios 20-21 31-32 Text area varies. There are quires of various sizes with a slightly varying size of paper and with several slips entered between the folia. Modern foliation in pencil in the upper margin; fol. 142 is counted twice. Different quire types. Catchwords only seldom appear.

A stub between fols. 12 and 13 (no text losses). A small unnumbered slip has been attached to fol. 31 during conservation(?). Fol. 53 is a small slip. Fol. 86 is a separate slip. Between fols. 87 and 88 a small unnumbered slip is entered. Fols. 88 and 89 are separate slips. Fol. 90 is a small slip. Fols. 107–108 are small slips. Fol. 116 is a separate slip pasted onto fol. 117. Fol. 119a is a small slip pasted on to fol. 119. Fol. 141 is a small slip.

The manuscript is in decent overall shape. There is fraying along the edges and this, together with the cropping of the leaves, has caused some loss of text. The modern binding is tight, causing some text loss in the inner margin. Several leaves have been conserved, for example, by including guards to the gutters of the quires. There is some staining and the ink has faded in several places.

one unruled column with a varying number of lines (33–45).

Several scribes writing cursive scripts of varying quality. At least two scribes also appear in Gödik Fincke’s copybook from 1597 (Stockholm, National Archives, Kopiesamling, vol. 40).

There are simple pen-drawn majuscules at the beginning of the letters. Apart from this, no decoration.

Renewed cardboard binding, which has made use of the front and back cover of the original leather. The original parts in dark brown leather. On the edge of the back cover, remnants of stitches, probably used to attach a strap or clasp. On the front cover a headline (saec. XVI): ‘Copie Boock påå Anno Christi 1598 Gödick Fincke till Porkala och Sunness’. Below, other faded markings. On the back cover, a pen-drawn picture of soldier armed with a halberd. On the spine a heading of saec. XVIII.

The manuscript forms one part of Gödik Fincke’s (1546–1617) copybooks prepared during his time as the steward of Savonlinna Castle (1581–1599). The manuscript contains copies of his correspondence, royal letters, and administrative material. The writing has been done by several scribes sporadically, in all likelihood, shortly after receipt or dispatch of the letters. At some points, letters or documents are copied by single scribes. In other places, each document is begun on a new leaf, and small slips are entered between the leaves (there is also no foliation, but a few running headings, catchwords, or other aids that would help to organize the material). At least a few of the scribes also worked on Gödik Fincke’s copybook for 1597 (Stockholm, National Archives, Kopiesamling, vol. 40).

The loose leaves kept in a separate folder are dated to 1598 and 1599. There are several short fragments and notes of but a few lines. The notes are usually written in a hand of saec. XVI, but a longer account concerning the affairs between Sigismund and Karl is written by a later hand of saec. XVII. Most documents are unfoliated, but a set of copies of letters sent to Arvid Eriksson (Stålarm) by Duke Karl has been numbered in a modern hand from 206 to 213. It was probably previously kept with the copybook from 1597, which has foliation up to 205. A large part of this material consists of correspondence between Karl and Sigismund. There is at least one hand that also appears in Gödik Fincke’s copybooks, but some of the documents might stem from different sources and have only later been put together, since they stem from the same years and the same Kankas collection. Paper; 36 folios (including small slips).

Earlier shelf-mark ‘No 8 in Kankas samling’. A note on the first flyleaf states that the book was taken in 1706 from Kankas estate to Turku court of appeals. The copybooks must have ended in Kankas as a result of the marriage between Gödik Fincke’s daughter Margareta and Evert Horn till Kankas.

From Turku the manuscript was apparently moved to the Swedish National Archives during the Great Northern War.

 Edvard Grönblad ed., Urkunder upplysande Finlands öden och tillstånd i slutet af 16de och början af 17de århundradet, 1. flocken, 1–3 häftet, handlingar rörande klubbekriget, Helsingfors 1843–1846, häfde 2, v–vii. Encoding added